BSG as number one? Hmmm. I don't know about that.

Kaan | February 21, 20:40 CET

It might be to soon to tell. Maybe shows need to be off the air for 5 years before we can make a judgement call on these types of lists.

Simon | February 21, 20:45 CET

I agree completely that BSG is the number one Sci-Fi show of all time. So Say We All.

missmuffet | February 21, 21:06 CET

Missing: Stargate Atlantis. While SG-1 and SGU were ranked respectfully high, SGA was really better than both: The military are still heroes, instead of all really needing a court martial, psychotherapy, and/or a spanking, yet the ethical dilemmas of fighting the Wraith were darker than SG-1's mostly simple morality. Also missing are old BSG, and, well, Dollhouse. Frankly, with all the cartoons they decided to include, the Timmverse Justice League would have been a reasonable addition.

Overrated: Lost, BSG (new), ST:DS9. There are a few more here that I wouldn't suspect should rate so high, but I haven't seen 'em to judge.

Underrated: Space: above and Beyond was really more about combat than science fiction, yet it executed very well on what it tried to be--a redo of Combat! in space vs. the Pacific theater.

Glad it was included: Robotech and Max Headroom are pretty atypical, but yet very apt choices for inclusion in such a list.

Glad it was NOT included: ST Voyager and Enterprise.

(edited to combine "missing" sections)

[ edited by jclemens on 2011-02-21 21:27 ]

jclemens | February 21, 21:13 CET

My top one would be Twilight Zone, second Doctor Who, third Star Trek.

redeem147 | February 21, 21:15 CET

Gotta say, from what I've seen of DS9, it deserves lots of praise. This show is fantastic, as I work my way through it now. Maybe it falls off somewhere down the line, but for now it's amazing.

sumogrip | February 21, 21:17 CET

I'm beyond happy that BSG was picked as the number one Sci-Fi show and I completely agree. Hell, it's my favorite show ever. I think Firefly, Terminator, and Fringe should be a bit higher, though.

benboy606 | February 21, 21:37 CET

DS9 is a show that I would really like to re-watch from the start, as I'm much older and wiser now and may give it higher praise. Particular the later seasons, which I always moaned about not having enough of the war in. Unfortunately, only single season boxsets seem to be available at the moment and for far too much.

Currently watching B5 for the very first time and I'm surprised it isn't higher. Londo quickly became one of my favourite sci-fi characters and just gets better and better. G'kar would be up there too, although he does seem to be absent for most of the series so far (just watched episode one of season 3.) I would certainly place it higher than DS9, which borrowed many an idea from it.

BSG number 1? Loved the show and believe it deserves the praise, but not sure about it being the greatest sci-fi in history of television. Would need to watch it through again, maybe acouple more times, to really decide. Caprica deserves to be higher and to still be on TV. I think I might be even slightly more disappointed in its cancellation than Dollhouse, which I didn't feel was anywhere near as consistently good, even if it had a few higher peaks. Don't care what anyone says, the pilot was great and it carried on being great throughout all that I've seen of it. (Which reminds me, is the second half of season 1 ever going to be on UK TV?)

Obviously, Firefly deserves a few places high and Dollhouse should be somewhere in the mix.

Vandelay | February 21, 21:39 CET

Vandelay, until you've watched all the way through Babylon 5 season 3, you haven't seen anything yet... Hold on tight, read no spoilers, and enjoy!

jclemens | February 21, 21:50 CET

I loved DS9. My favourite Trek (after the original in a class by itself.)

I think that last season of B5 brings it down on the list (not that it was JMS' fault.)

redeem147 | February 21, 21:53 CET

I know I'm in the minority of the universe, but I really loved Voyager. I'd love for it to be on the list. Other than that, I think this was one of the best "best" lists I've read in a long time.

jesse | February 21, 22:03 CET

@jesse - Don't worry, I have a mate that really loves Voyager too. Of course, he is wrong... :)

Vandelay | February 21, 22:09 CET

Kind of picking up from a discussion from another post about BSG's continuation via prequels:
I think what made the modern BSG so great (beside so many elements, like the cast, the music, the dialogue, the themes, the effects, etc) is that it's such a complete story. Caprica was really interesting and I did end up wanting more from that. But, it wasn't necessary and neither is Blood and Chrome. From the miniseries to the amazing finale, BSG was so good that it actually didn't leave me wanting more.

Firefly on the other hand, was so good, but incomplete. Had it been given a second season to tell the story we saw in big-screen Serenity, and filmed versions of all the comic continuations, and finally found a proper end, I think Firefly could have ended up much higher on any list.

CaptainB | February 21, 22:32 CET

I love that SGU got some love here. Great, great show, and my favorite of the Stargates. Lost not cracking the top 5 is crazy, and I don't agree with all the "misses" they claimed happened (except Nikki and Paulo, the worst characters in the history of ever). It's great that Firefly, a show with 14 episodes, cracked the top 10.

Tumnus | February 21, 22:36 CET

I disagree with quite a few things about this list, but it is disgraceful to place DS9 ahead of B5.

Risch22 | February 21, 23:41 CET

My top 5:

1. LOST
2. Battlestar Galactica
3. Firefly
4. Fringe
5. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Wyndam_ | February 21, 23:59 CET

It might not be the popular choice, but Star Trek: Voyager is definitely near the top of my list. And Battlestar Galactica would be at the bottom (as low as it can go).

Then again, these lists are subjective, and finding one list that perfectly captures everybody's tastes is impossible.

Walkdogger | February 22, 00:48 CET

I disagree with quite a few things about this list, but it is disgraceful to place DS9 ahead of B5.

Might we agree to disagree?

redeem147 | February 22, 00:55 CET

Might we agree to disagree?

On the internet? NEVER!

sumogrip | February 22, 05:37 CET

So we're gonna disagree about agreeing to disagree... which means we're gonna... disagree about disagreeing so we... agree? @_@

BreathesStory | February 22, 06:55 CET

Lost is Science Fiction? I thought it was fantasy.

newcj | February 22, 08:13 CET

The first half of Battlestar Galactica is stunning, the second half suffers from the law of diminishing returns. Doctor Who became my new Buffy and was Blake's 7 on the list? Babylon 5 was my first exposure to epic sci-fi opera and it was glorious. "Z'ha'dum" is one of the best season finales of any show. And I love DS9, love it. Garak = fab.

Simon | February 22, 08:17 CET

Simon, no, Blake's 7 wasn't there either. I think you've nailed my objection to BSG squarely: the first two seasons were so good, it made everything on New Caprica and beyond that much more painful.

jclemens | February 22, 09:19 CET

Exactly this. It's like you've read my mind Simon.

Kaan | February 22, 09:38 CET

I have such mixed feelings about this list.

A huge YES!! to BSG in the #1 spot (and unlike some others, I think it just kept getting better and ened with the best three-part finale of any show ever, SciFi or otherwise.

But a list of 50 and no Dollhouse? That is unforgivable.

I would have put both Fringe and B5 a lot higher, and of course Firefly.
I have in fact come to like Fringe better than the X-Files, which drove me crazy with the number of stand alone eps and how thin they spread the basic story arc, because of the stand-alones.
Would have also put T:TSCC and Torchwood higher.

And I still think that Lost is the most overrated genre show in the history of TV. Although it had it's moments and sucked me back in for season five, I'll never forgive them for the cop-out finale (just IMHO, Lost fans) :)

Shey | February 22, 15:13 CET

God, Lost that high? I watched the first series and just could not continue so annoyed did I get by all the characters and the plot. The only thing that would have induced me to keep watching was some answers but I knew they would drag that shit out for as long as possible in a cynical move to retain viewers. I would also dispute it as being a sci-fi programme.

I think Space: Above and Beyond and Quantum Leap should have been a bit higher on the list and I did a double-take when I saw the Jetsons on there. However I have to admit I just plain haven't seen an awful lot of those shows.

digupherbones | February 22, 17:06 CET

It is a nice list over all. (But Lost? Really? Way up there?) It's too hard for me to order them off the top of my head (major fail), but I've at least seen good chunks of most of them I think...*counts*... Yep, thirty-four of them. And I've also once again been reminded of the glaring gaps in my education: gotta get around to Red Dwarf and The Prisoner one of these days.

BreathesStory | February 22, 18:01 CET

From personal experience, Netflix has both Red Dwarf and The Prisoner... As well as Babylon 5, Firefly, all the Stargates, and most of the rest of the shows on this list. I highly recommend Netflix as a great way to watch through old series.

jclemens | February 22, 20:35 CET

I don't get why Farscape is not (at least) in the top 10. It deserves a lot more attention, and I actually love it more than BSG.

Nico-Angel | February 22, 23:30 CET